Official: Sears at Twelve Oaks Mall is Closing?

[313WX]

Apparently, according to a CNBC article from earlier today, it's being auctioned off online...

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/sear...es-online.html

[ZenithCKLW]

Does that mean it's closing, or does it mean the building is being sold and Sears will lease their current space, keeping the store open?

[313WX]

Does that mean it's closing, or does it mean the building is being sold and Sears will lease their current space, keeping the store open?

Per the article, it seems that's an option they're open to [[and would prefer).

[gencinjay]

Is it normal for big retail to own their store that is included in a mall setting? I always thought the mall owned the building and leased space to the retail.

[Zacha341]

Welcome to Detroityes.com ZCKLW!

Does that mean it's closing, or does it mean the building is being sold and Sears will lease their current space, keeping the store open?

[ZenithCKLW]

Thank you!

[Richard]

Is it normal for big retail to own their store that is included in a mall setting? I always thought the mall owned the building and leased space to the retail.

They call them out parcels.

The ones for sale are all attached to the mall but as a seperate building not within the actual mall.

http://www.investorwords.com/13643/out_parcel.html

The guy that owns Sears separated the real estate part of Sears which had the value,into a seperate holding company.

He has been trying to keep it afloat and covering losses by selling assets,like craftsmen tools, in order to pay the bills.

Even if he bankrupted Sears now he would still hold the real estate and not lose money,sooner or later he will reach the point where he will stop propping it up and save the remaining assets so he does not take a loss.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Probably within the year, Sears and K-Mart will go belly up. Toys R Us is gone, Carson's is closing too. That was a nice store that sold quality goods. Too bad Amazon and other online options are the demise of brick and mortar stores. The Malls are scarcely populated now, except maybe during Holidays.

[iheartthed]

Sears still exists?

The last time I went into one, about 3 or 4 years ago, it was a ghost town on a Saturday during Christmas shopping season.

[Richard]

Probably within the year, Sears and K-Mart will go belly up. Toys R Us is gone, Carson's is closing too. That was a nice store that sold quality goods. Too bad Amazon and other online options are the demise of brick and mortar stores. The Malls are scarcely populated now, except maybe during Holidays.

I think the cycle is interesting though,Sears started out with a catalog that you looked at then ordered and it was delivered,the same system that forced its demise,that and over leverage.

I have tried several times to order from Kmart online with no success so that transition seems not very promising.

I think when the smoke clears it will be a few large online players selling junk expensive and some nich stores selling quality expensive.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Sears still exists?

The last time I went into one, about 3 or 4 years ago, it was a ghost town on a Saturday during Christmas shopping season.

The Sears on 7 Mile and Middlebelt, in what once was Livonia Mall, is barely hanging on. It's the only one I remotely know, that's still open.

[401don]

It's now been 3 months since the Canadian stores closed. There were 3 stores within about 6 miles of each other near where I live. All are empty with not even a rumor about replacements for the spaces. Now some of the stores leading to that empty hulk at the end of the mall aisle are closing.

[douglasm]

I wonder if the future of Sears is in the franchised "Hometown" stores. When the Sears out here closed, a Hometown store opened carrying appliances, tools and lawn and garden equipment, not unlike the old "Farm Stores" Sears used to have in smaller markets.

[O3H]

Although I was born and raised near the Oakland Mall area, I can't say I have bought anything from Sears in a very very long time. I will not miss them at all.

[Bham1982]

Sears is methodically selling off their assets from best-in-class downwards. In an odd way it's good news if they're selling your local Sears, because it means the site has some value [[which makes sense in this case as Twelve Oaks is the second most successful retail center in the state).

The real dreck will be there till the bitter end.

[JBMcB]

I wonder if the future of Sears is in the franchised "Hometown" stores. When the Sears out here closed, a Hometown store opened carrying appliances, tools and lawn and garden equipment, not unlike the old "Farm Stores" Sears used to have in smaller markets.

Last time I drove by the Sears at Oakland mall, it had split into a Sears in one half, and an AtHome store in the other. There aren't many big-box stores that could move into those spaces, but they do exist.

I think what's killing these stores is:

1. Lack of differentiation - J.C. Penny's, Macy's, Sears, Carson's, all seem to carry the same clothing lines, with a few variations. From the inside they are practically indistinguishable

2. This makes them vulnerable to Kohl's, who discounts everything regularly and makes up for it in volume. You never see someone walk out of that store with one or two things, they have shopping bags full of stuff.

[Lowell]

Twelve Oaks is one of the few vibrant malls left and I suspect it may be one of Sears few remaining profitable stores. Were it to shutter the space would likely find a tenant or tenants quickly.

The Sears location that remains open, and boggles my mind as to why, is the Livonia store at Seven and Middlebelt. Its vast parking lot rarely has more than a sprinkling of cars, of which I wonder if they are employee vehicles parked to look like someone is there. The repair garage with its row of doors on the Middlebelt side have long been inactive much to the delight, I suspect, of the Belle Tires shop to the north.

As if that isn't enough, immediately to the west is a busy Walmart superstore.

[Hermod]

They call them out parcels.

The ones for sale are all attached to the mall but as a seperate building not within the actual mall.

http://www.investorwords.com/13643/out_parcel.html

The guy that owns Sears separated the real estate part of Sears which had the value,into a seperate holding company.

He has been trying to keep it afloat and covering losses by selling assets,like craftsmen tools, in order to pay the bills.

Even if he bankrupted Sears now he would still hold the real estate and not lose money,sooner or later he will reach the point where he will stop propping it up and save the remaining assets so he does not take a loss.

Well, "out parcel" generally describes the freestanding stores, restaurants, and banks around the perimeter of the mall parking lot while the term "anchor stores" is used for the large stores at the ends of the mall like Sears, JC Penney, and Macys. The most common arrangement is that the anchor stores are owned by their occupants while the smaller stores in the corridors connecting the anchors are owned by the mall and leased to the tenants.

[401don]

Remember when guys didn't mind going to the mall [[as long as there was no game on)? There were sporting goods, records, books, electronics, etc. Now it's just women's clothes & shoes.

[hybridy]

sears and carsons bankruptcies will be the death knell to all local malls save somerset and 12 oaks. I have never purchased apparel from sears, but I have furnished 3 kitchens with Kenmore appliances in the past 5 years. I have been very happy with the Kenmore products. iirc, amazon will sell Kenmore products, but I don't know if that's still the plan.

[Danny]

Blame Amazon.

[Scottathew]

Probably within the year, Sears and K-Mart will go belly up. Toys R Us is gone, Carson's is closing too. That was a nice store that sold quality goods. Too bad Amazon and other online options are the demise of brick and mortar stores. The Malls are scarcely populated now, except maybe during Holidays.

I think there's still a place for malls in America, but just far fewer. The same with golf courses.

I don't think of it as too sad because people are speaking with their money. As these malls go away their will be opportunities for development. I just hope we're able to capitalize on those opportunities.

[Johnnny5]

IMO Eddie Lambert [[the Sears CEO/Conman) has purposely driven this company into the ground. As mentioned above Sears started as a catalog store and was perfectly positioned to transfer into online sales. Instead they're going bankrupt and the scumbag Lambert is ready to sneak out the back door with the money [[All the real estate and other assets he's parceled off as collateral when making loans to Sears) while the current and former employees are left holding empty bags.

[ZenithCKLW]

According to the Free Press...

"The winning bidder will get ownership of the two-story, approximately 245,000-square-foot store, but he or she must keep the Sears open and lease the property back to Sears."

https://www.freep.com/story/money/20...all/510218002/

[Richard]

So they pull the cash out and have a sellable lease asset in the event of bankruptcy or sell the lease rights before bankruptcy,there has to be some interesting fine print in that contract.